This invention relates to a system for manipulating a prosthesis, and more particularly, to a catheter and gripping system for enabling manipulation of a graft or stent deployed or implanted at a repair site within a corporeal lumen.
It is well established that various fluid conducting body or corporeal lumens, such as veins and arteries, may deteriorate or suffer trauma so that repair is necessary. For example, various types of aneurysms or other deteriorative diseases may affect the ability of the lumen to conduct fluids and, in turn, may be life-threatening. In some cases, the damaged lumen is repairable only with the use of a prosthesis such as an artificial vessel or graft. Other situations require the use of a stent which operates to hold a constricted vessel open. For repair of vital vessels such as the aorta, repair may be significantly life-threatening.
Techniques known in the art which tend to minimize dangers to the patient include a procedure in which a graft resembling the natural vessel is placed within the diseased or obstructed section of the natural vessel. More specifically, it is known within the art to provide a graft for intraluminal repair of a vessel. In intraluminal vessel repair, the graft is advanced intraluminally through the vessel to the repair site using a delivery catheter and deployed within the vessel so that the graft traverses the diseased portion to thereby repair the vessel.
Additionally, it is known within the art to provide a stent for holding open a vessel which is constricted due to a stenosis. In order to minimize danger to the patient, a stent may also be intraluminally deployed.
Generally speaking, it may be necessary to reposition a graft or stent deployed or implanted at a repair site in a corporeal lumen. However, it may be difficult to maneuver a device to a position adjacent the prosthesis, to grip the prosthesis for maneuvering thereof to the desired location, and to then retrieve the device from the repair site.
Thus, what has been needed and heretofore unavailable is a system which is designed specifically to enable secure gripping and maneuvering of a prosthesis which has been placed within a patient's vasculature and to accomplish repositioning of the prosthesis within the patient's vasculature to a desired location.